4 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Tempers fl are over Bayside
and Douglaston bike lanes
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
One local lawmaker’s protest over the
construction of new bike lanes along
Northern Boulevard in Bayside and
Douglaston on Monday took a turn when
a group of counter-protesters showed up
to off er their very vocal support of the
plan.
State Senator Tony Avella organized
the rally outside of the Alley Pond Golf
Center on Sept. 18 to give him and others
the opportunity to blast the NYC
Department of Transportation’s (DOT)
upcoming implementation of a bike lane
along Northern Boulevard. DOT has
already begun to work on the project.
But the rally also drew the attention
of about two dozen individuals from
Transportation Alternatives. Th e organization
has been vocally in favor of the
DOT plan since it was fi rst presented to
the community at the Community Board
11 meeting in June, where it received
board approval with a narrow vote.
Aft er further consideration, the community
board revisited the city’s proposal
at an emergency meeting called by
the board’s Transportation Committee in
July. Committee co-chairperson Bernard
Haber, a retired engineer, presented the
board with his own set of revised plans.
Instead of having the lanes in the street,
Haber proposed, cyclists and pedestrians
could share a widened sidewalk, eliminating
the need for one westbound lane
of traffi c to be taken away. Th e group sent
the plans to DOT for inspection.
On Sept. 11, Haber presented his proposal
to the full community board and
DOT offi cials, who said his alternate plan
could run up to $10 million and take
years to complete. Haber said his plan
would provide more safety for bikers and
would only cost about $600,000.
At the Sept. 18 rally, Avella was critical
of DOT’s decision to move forward with
the project and urged the city agency to
consider implementing Haber’s plan.
“Th ere’s been a lot of controversy about
this plan,” Avella said. “Th e community
board believes, and so do I, that it’s actually
safer to have cyclists on the extended
sidewalk in this stretch rather than cutting
off a lane of traffi c.”
He also pointed out that motorists
would have to cross through the proposed
bike lane to enter and exit local businesses
and the highway, putting cyclists at risk.
“Nobody’s against the bike lane; we just
want to do it in the right way, the safest
way,” Avella said. “Isn’t it more important
to be safer than rush something through?
… Th at’s not democracy.”
Th e press conference was going to take
place inside of the golf center until advocates
with Transportation Alternatives
complained that the venue did not allow
for their participation. Aft er a heated
back and forth, the state senator —
who was joined by representatives from
the Douglas Manor Association and
Douglaston Homeowners Association —
agreed to move the rally outside under the
condition that they not call out during his
remarks.
“Th ese are their bullying tactics,” Avella
said of the group. “Th ey don’t want to
have an open discussion.”
Th e state senator said most of the advocates
in attendance to counter his argument
were not local residents and would
not be directly impacted by the issue.
Ben Turner, Transportation Committee
co-chairperson, told reporters that the
board gave DOT clearance to implement
the plan with their original vote and said
that the bike lane is only part of the larger
plan to make Northern Boulevard safer
for all — including motorists.
“Th e roadway is too wide open; it
encourages speeding,” Turner said. “Part
of the purpose of the DOT’s plan is to
reduce speeding by removing excess road
capacity … Th at’s the point that’s been
lost in all of this debate.”
Eric Harold, a member of Transportation
Alternatives and a Whitestone resident,
said there is an immediate need for the
bike lanes and revisions can be made in
future years, if deemed necessary.
“Right now, the DOT’s plan can immediately
impact the safety of cyclists and
pedestrians,” he said. “It can be done in
a week.”
A DOT spokesperson said the city agency
is “open to continuing the discussion”
about the community board’s concept.
“However, DOT’s plan, which incorporated
much of the board’s previous feedback
and received a vote of support this
summer, allows the agency to immediately
deliver critical safety benefi ts for
the community and all street users,” the
spokesperson continued. “Implementing
the two-way protected bike lane on the
north side of Northern Boulevard adds
vital traffi c calming along this Vision Zero
priority corridor while creating a safer
route for pedestrians and cyclists traveling
between Bayside and Douglaston.”
DOT has received letters of support
from several community groups in favor
of the project, including the Douglaston
Local Development Corp., the Douglaston
Village Chamber of Commerce, and the
Westmoreland Association, the spokesperson
also said.
Th e call for safety improvements at
the location was spurred by the death
of 78-year-old Michael Schenkman, who
was struck and killed by a car while riding
his bicycle on Northern Boulevard
to access the nearby Joe Michaels Mile
bike path.
Photo courtesy of Congresswoman Meng’s offi ce
Construction at the Flushing-Main Street
LIRR.
Elevator work
underway at
Main Street
LIRR station
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Work to make the Flushing-Main
Street Long Island Railroad (LIRR) station
accessible for all has begun.
Construction was initiated on the
station’s new westbound elevator in
August, according to Congresswoman
Grace Meng, and on the new eastbound
elevator the week of Sept. 11.
Th e elevators, which would make the
station Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) compliant, is a component of
phase two of the LIRR’s $24.6 million
planned overhaul for the downtown
Flushing station.
The massive renovation project
was fi rst announced in 2012 and
faced some hiccups, including an eminent
domain battle with the nearby
Ou-Juang Supermarket. New signage
and platform railings, part of phase
one construction, were unveiled in
March 2016.
Other improvements still to come
include a new ticket offi ce in the station’s
westbound plaza, platform shelters
and extensions, stairs and electrical/
communication lines.
Completion of the station overhaul is
set for early 2018.
“Plans to rehabilitate the Flushing-
Main Street LIRR station have been
in the works for many years and it’s
something for which I’ve long advocated,”
Meng said. “I am thrilled that construction
is fi nally underway and that
swift progress is being made. I thank
the LIRR for its continued commitment
to the renovation of the Flushing-
Main Street station and I look forward
the project’s completion.”
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER
State Senator Tony Avella and Juan Restrepo, the Queens organizer for Transportation Alternatives,
exchange words prior to the Sept. 18 press conference.